17 November 2022
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
This stakeout will be about the debate of the Security Council reform.
But before starting that, let me just mention that we’re still waiting for a clear picture of what happened in Poland a couple of days ago.
In the meantime, I offer my condolences to the bereaved families.
I commend the Government of Poland for reacting with cool heads.
We must avoid escalation of the war in Ukraine, and among other manifestations of the very complex and interlinked which we have in the world.
It is this war that has renewed our attention on Security Council reform.
The Security Council, as the main guarantor of international peace and security, is blocked from taking any meaningful action, particularly on the most dangerous war we have now in our days.
The world is looking to United Nations for answers.
The world is looking more and more to the General Assembly for the necessary steps.
The credibility and relevance of the United Nations is at stake.
The General Assembly is the UN body mandated to act on Security Council reform.
This question has already been on the General Assembly’s agenda for 43 years.
For the past 13 years, the General Assembly has been working on it in the context of the so-called intergovernmental negotiations process.
You might wonder what is different about this year, after 13 years?
The world is changing. The challenges are changing very rapidly. Countries are struggling with the challenges of the most complex and interlinked crises not seen for decades.
During the high-level week last September, 73 leaders have demanded urgent reform of the Security Council.
All Member States today have spoken for the necessity of reform of the Council.
I want to announce today that I have appointed the Permanent Representative Tareq AlBanai of Kuwait, and Permanent Representative, Ambassador Michal Mlynar of Slovakia, to be co-chairs and lead the intergovernmental negotiations process.
I have complete confidence in Ambassadors Mlynar and AlBanai. In their intention to understand the views of Member States and steer the negotiation in good faith, and mutual respect.
All Member States who spoke this morning expressed their confidence and they offered their cooperation and congratulations to the two co-chairs of the IGN process.
The Ambassadors have just started their work. But in the future, I am sure they will make themselves available to you.
The General Assembly this morning started debating in the 77th session the issue of the Security Council reform.
I told the General Assembly, the Member States, that they must drive the urgently needed transformation.
I asked them to take a collective step and start from a position of “yes”.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me take one or two questions, specifically on Security Council reform.
Yes, please.
TASS News Agency: Mr. President, you said this process on the agenda of the General Assembly already for 30 years. How should we accelerate this process, how will you discuss this process with P5 members? Thank you.
PGA Kőrösi: It is very important that we should have a consultative process with the P5. But let me dissolve a misperception that it is the only the P5 that makes the negotiations difficult. The negotiations have never produced a result that was to be considered by the P5. I think there is a huge task ahead of the General Assembly now, this year and we’ll see for how long, to iron out an acceptable, workable compromise among 193 Members. We have never reached that point. In the meanwhile of course, it will also be very important to make sure that the P5 can also work as Members of the 193. But it will be the second stage when a united, consulted, consolidated position in the General Assembly will be taken to the Security Council for their approval.
If there are no more questions, then I thank you very much for your attention and hope to see you very soon on other issues during press stakeouts.
Thank you indeed.
